- A group opportunity. Invite your friends.
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53 people are interested
A Great Way to Engage and Experience Direct Client Contact! DESC's Main Shelter
ORGANIZATION: DESC - Housing and Health to End Homelessness
Please visit the new page to apply.
- A group opportunity. Invite your friends.
-
53 people are interested
On a typical night, our emergency shelters are full to capacity. Our Main Shelter at The Morrison provides snacks and nightly hot meal to clients staying in the shelter. During the day, the main shelter is a drop-in center for those registered for shelter beds. People can seek refuge from the streets, the weather, and access a wide variety of services. Our services include information and referral, hygiene facilities, mail and phone services and emergency clothing.
The shelter is a wonderful place for you to get involved and give back to your community. Below are the volunteer opportunities available:
- Circulating Volunteer: A volunteer (preferably someone with experience working with our client population) could circulate the day room and chat with clients or invite them to play board games.
- Food Lifeline: Each Friday at 7:45am, Main Shelter staff go to pick up donated food from Food Lifeline. This food comes in large quantities, and we could use assistance unloading it and organizing it in the coffee counter pantry. We could use a volunteer from 9-11am.
- Project Based Work: This would mostly involve cleaning/organizing, similar to the work volunteers do at Day of Caring but on a smaller scale. For example, a volunteer could help us do a deep clean of the coffee counter or of the pantry.
- Dinner Volunteers: These volunteers would help with facilitating dinner (bringing clients who are not very mobile trays, counting meals for FareStart, handing out trays, etc)
- 7-9pm Activity Volunteers: These volunteers would help with games, art, and other activities that would occur after dinner from 7-9pm each evening.
-Coffee and Hygiene Counter Assistant: This assignment heavily involves d irect client engagement . Responsibilitie s include distributing and tracking hyg ie ne supplies and maintaining coffee counter for shelter clients.
Come join a team that fights to end homelessness!
Please visit https://www.desc.org/get-involved/volunteer/
for additional details for volunteering at DESC.
4 More opportunities with DESC - Housing and Health to End Homelessness
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About DESC - Housing and Health to End Homelessness
Location:
515 3RD AVE, SEATTLE, WA 98104, US
Mission Statement
The Downtown Emergency Service Center works to end the homelessness of vulnerable people, particularly those living with serious mental or addictive illnesses. Through partnerships and an integrated array of comprehensive services, treatment and housing, we give people the opportunity to reach their highest potential. At DESC, uncommon efforts produce uncommon results that eliminate homelessness, one person at a time.
Description
DESC is the largest multi-service agency serving homeless adults in the Puget Sound region, reaching over 9,000 people annually and providing state licensed mental health and chemical dependency treatment, 279 emergency shelter beds, and over 1600 units of permanent, supportive housing. DESC also addresses a larger community need: our services decrease the financial burden on taxpayers by minimizing the utilization of emergency rooms, jails, courts, police, psychiatric hospitals and other highly expensive resources. At the same time, we are improving the quality of life for those who live, work and do business here.
DESC succeeds where others have failed. Stretching the bounds of accepted practices, DESC's professional staff have learned that creative, assertive and holistic approaches, including evidence based and emerging best practices, work best for our highly vulnerable and difficult-to-engage clientele. Many men and women who have a long history of homelessness also have tenuous if any ties to the mainstream community and lack natural support networks such as family members. By eliminating outdated barriers to services and housing, DESC has received national recognition for its work with chronically homeless adults with behavioral health disorders.
Our staff and Board of Directors remain committed to serving those adults in our community who are most disabled and most vulnerable - and most often forgotten or ignored by society. We believe there is no such thing as a throw-away person.
CAUSE AREAS
WHEN
WHERE
DESC, Main Shelter515 Third AveSeattle, WA 98104
DATE POSTED
April 1, 2020
SKILLS
- Mental Health
GOOD FOR
- People 55+
- Group
REQUIREMENTS
- Background Check
- Must be at least 21
- Orientation or Training
- Commitment 6 months +
- Able to comply with DESC confidentiality and volunteer boundary requirements